One Residency Program Expanded, Another Started, in Spokane

In 2023, the WSMA’s workforce work group published a report with recommendations to policymakers and health industry leaders on short-term and long-term solutions to Washington state’s health care workforce shortages. Among those recommendations were support for psychiatry and primary care residency programs. In a positive development, and with celebrations from March’s Match Day still fresh on our minds, we’re pleased to report two residency-related developments in Spokane to help bolster our state’s workforce:

• Per a report from Spokane Public Radio, the Providence/Sacred Heart psychiatry residency program in Spokane dedicated to underserved communities has expanded. With funding from the federal government and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, the program added several residency spots, now training six residents per year throughout the program. Providence Chief Medical Officer Rebecca Mallo, MD, says the students matched to the program this spring are all connected to Washington state
• From the same report comes news that MultiCare has opened a new clinic at Deaconess Hospital for internal medicine residents. Funding was made possible partly through a state grant facilitated by Sen. Marcus Riccelli as well as health system dollars. MultiCare Chief Academic Officer Jennifer Knowles, MD, says the clinic began seeing patients earlier this month and will welcome its first class of medical residents in June 2027. The residency program director is WSMA President-Elect Matt Hollon, MD, who helps lead recruitment efforts that aim to cultivate local physicians-in-training who are more likely to remain in the area.

Congratulations to these forward-thinking professionals and institutions for helping to strengthen our state’s workforce and the health of Washingtonians.